Chad White hasn’t stopped cooking.

But the prominent restaurateur behind popular Spokane establishments like Zona Blanca, High Tide Lobster Bar, Uno Mas, and TTs Brewery & Barbecue has traded the demands of brick-and-mortar restaurants for something wilder.

White, the 44-year-old former Top Chef TV show contestant, has moved to cooking over an open fire, this time outdoors and off-grid, far from the daily grind of managing a traditional kitchen.

Trail Feast LLC, White’s latest venture, is an immersive outdoor dining experience that blends backcountry adventure with fine dining. Guests follow GPS coordinates deep into nature, sometimes by off-road vehicles and other times by pavement-friendly routes, to a campsite where White lays out a rustic chef’s table alongside a campfire. 

Depending on the event, White might prepare an entire animal cooked primitively over wood fire with accompanying sides, or prepare a 10-course fine dining experience complete with cocktails and followed by brunch the next morning. The meals preparation doesn't involve gas stoves or electricity, just fire and forged steel cookware, says White.

“At its core, it’s about getting people out of the four walls of our restaurant, into our great outdoors, and enjoying a dining experience like they’ve never had before,” says White.

The Journal last caught up with White, a 2022 Spokane Journal of Business Rising Star, in 2023 when he opened his second TTs Brewery & Barbecue in Liberty Lake. At the time, he was still juggling multiple restaurants. But over the following year, White would slowly part ways with all of these businesses. The most notable closure of White’s restaurants was when, last September, he announced the shuttering of Zona Blanca, a ceviche bar in downtown Spokane.

By then, however, White had already begun laying the groundwork for Trail Feast, which he quietly launched in May of 2024. White’s restaurant career had taken a toll on his family life, finances, and mental health during the previous few years, and the project was an idea that fused his love of open fire cooking with a restorative environment. In the early months, the project wasn’t profitable, he says. But he knew it was something he wanted to do and wanted to find a way to make it work.

“I can’t say for one second that there wasn’t an incredible amount of fear and unknown or doubt,” White says. “I knew I wanted to do this. I just didn’t know how I was going to do it.”  

The transition wasn’t easy, especially in the winter months after Zona Blanca closed. Chad’s wife, Alexi Sage White, also runs her own business in the beauty industry. With slow bookings in the winter and Trail Feast not yet bringing in any income, the couple had to consider several sacrifices. They decreased their spending, cooked meals at home, and had long conversations about whether White should return to work for a restaurant.

But White still had his vision for Trail Feast. Shortly after he had launched it, White presented at Overland Expo, a sprawling tradeshow for outdoor and off-road enthusiasts. He was invited to do a few cooking classes at the event and talk about what Trail Feast is.

He quickly realized that by aligning Trail Feast with the Overland community, a mix of outdoor brands, influencers, and adventurers, he had found his niche. He attended every Overland Expo event last year across the country, and the organization extended the invitation again in 2025. The endeavor paid off. The Subaru Corp. and Benchmade Knives have now hired him to cook for their teams and ambassadors at Overland Expos across the country. Subaru has hired him for every expo this year, White says.

Trail Feast is Chad White's new venture where he cooks gourmet meals out in nature. - Trail Feast LLC

Since then, Trail Feast has grown from an uncertain venture into an increasingly sustainable operation. This year, White and his small team, a core group of three chefs, including himself, are booked out until mid-October with 26 events throughout the country. At a recent Overland Expo, in Redmond, Oregon, they prepared over 500 meals in eight days, cooking for brands like Subaru, Benchmade, and other Overland Expo guests.

White declines to share the Trail Feast’s annual revenue but says the business has made significant progress from its early months when it operated at a loss. He is still working to pay off debt from his restaurant closures, but says the current business model of private events, brand and corporate partnerships, and curated outdoor dining experiences is trending in the right direction.

Leaving Zona Blanca had been an emotionally difficult decision, White says. However, after being in the restaurant industry for decades and achieving his dreams in many ways, he also felt that his time with his family was limited. While Trail Feast may have him out on the road a lot more, it is a different endeavor from the everyday stressors of running a brick-and-mortar establishment, he says.

“The difference is when I’m home, I’m just more present,” he says. “I don’t have seven days a week of concerns that are going on, whether it be our environment and the property around us, or managing a large group of people that all have their own personal things that are going on with their lives. This is the kind of scenario where I get to pick and choose what I want to do.”

Looking ahead, White has ambitious plans to expand Trail Feast. He envisions a fleet of five outfitted vehicles, complete with rooftop tents, refrigeration, and portable showers that would allow guests to fly into Spokane, hop into a rig, and join a multi-day culinary excursion through the Pacific Northwest. He is currently exploring funding options and speaking with different investors to bring the concept to life. If successful, he hopes it can reach a national audience and offer a curated food and travel experience in the four corners of the country.

That, of course, would take a lot of work to do, he acknowledges. But regardless of how large this new venture turns, White says the decision has been a healthy one that he is grateful to have taken. Long drives into nature provide a time to reflect, and the quiet solitude of the mountains, while he prepares food, has had a beneficial effect on his mental health.

“Finding success and happiness on the same trail isn’t always easy,” White says. “I feel like I just kind of turned down the right road for myself. It’s been really good, and it’s been really rewarding.”